The fam comes to Chile! (And so much more)

Okay, so to update you all on what has happened in my life during the last 18 days. It’s been crazy here between all of my classes except one finishing up last week and of course, the long-awaited parents visit happening before that. Everything turned out fine, and surprisingly, I managed to not go crazy (for the most part).

I guess I should start with the parents and Grandma Cookie coming to town. First of all, huge shoutout to my mom for being AMAZING and bringing me about a million wonderful things from America (junk food, hiking boots, a backpack, new running shoes, makeup etc), and for my brand new IPOD to replace to one that got crushed to pieces when I got hit by a car. She even had it engraved to say just that (more or less) on the back of it. So clever. Anyway, the family was pretty tired (to say the least) after all of their travels, but they still managed to get up the energy to meet Maria Elena and I at our apartment for appetizers before we all went out to dinner. I would say it went surprisingly well. I managed to translate okay, the parents enjoyed seeing where I am living, the wine was good, and the conversation flowed pretty smoothly (or at least everyone laughed a lot). Plus, dinner at Liguria was delicious as always. I highly enjoy their food, and I have a soft spot for the restaurant, since Max took me their on our first date.

Anyway, the next morning it was off to Vina del Mar bright and early to visit Jo. The bus ride took about as long as anticipated, and I was happy to see Jo’s lovely face again. We filled our afternoon with catching up, delicious empanadas (my fave empanada place thus far is in Vina), the flower clock, walking along the beach, SHOPPING (a theme of the trip) at artisanal markets, drinking GIANT pisco and mango sours at a café, and a quick stop at the mall (can’t take a weekend trip without pajamas). Oh and I fed half a bagel to a one-legged pigeon and his friends after a stray dog rejected it. By nightfall we were all tired, so we hopped on the metro and headed to Valparaiso for the night.

Note to self: do NOT ever travel in Valpo at night. Yeah, let’s just say winding through the hills of Valpo for forty five minutes with a cab driver who would not listen to me and who had NO clue where he was going is not my idea of a good time. After getting a bit hysterical, we eventually made it to our lovely hospedaje in one piece. It was a shame that the trip there was such a nightmare (and that the place had no sign), because it really did have a great breakfast and a spectacular view. But so it goes.

Anyway, after taking a short run the next morning, we all commenced our self-guided tour of Valpo. First off, a stop at Pablo Neruda’s house, for the second time. It was as lovely and as quirky as I remember it to be, and the views from his windows are still some of the best I’ve seen. Next, we walked all the way across town, stopping to look at some of the sights and to eat a delicious sandwich along the way. Anyway, the highlights of the day (in my estimation) were the two funiculars we took to get from place to place. They were a lot of fun, and I think they give a great insight into the history of the town. Plus, they helped us get to our hospedaje MUCH faster than we had the previous night. Who knew they were so functional (and cheap)?

By the late afternoon, we were definitely Valpo’d out though from all the walking, and so we sat around the bus terminal for a while after grabbing a typical drink at a café near the main plaza. The whole bus ride home I was SUPER antsy to see Max after missing him for ten days while he was gallivanting around Peru/ Bolivia. I practically sprinted off the bus, and the family was kind enough to figure dinner out on their own (they ended up having Peruvian food aka Chile’s version of Mexican food) in spite of their language barriers—example, my dad thinks they were asking if he wanted his food delivered to the same room, but we have no clue what the actual question was. Sadly, we realized a bit too late that my mom had left her new Valpo artwork on the bus, so that was a bummer, but she found something else she liked later in the trip.

Anyway, it was amazing to see Max again. I missed him so much, and I got to see all of his photos from his adventures and hear all of his stories. It made me nostalgic for my own time in Peru a few years ago. Definitely one of those experiences I will never forget. Plus, Max brought me back a Cusquena shirt (the typical Peruvian beer that both my dad and I have taken a liking to) and a box of Princesa bars. Nom nom nom.

The rest of that week in Santiago was spent doing a variety of activities. First up, my first ever wine tour at the vineyard, Concha y Toro. The grounds were gorgeous, the wine was decent, the production of the devil in the cellar was cute, and lunch at the vineyard was a good choice. Plus, it was interesting to learn that Chile’s largest wine producer also owns vineyards in California. Hmmmm.

Next we met up with Max to take the funicular up Cerro San Cristobal. Max and I had already journeyed up the hill together before but a) I still love those views b) I had never taken the funicular, it was cool, and c) it was nice to have everyone meet each other. We saw the “nice Jewish lady” that my parents had been viewing from their hotel room up close and personal, and upon leaving the hill we had some tasty gelato and shopping in Patio Bellavista followed by some window shopping in the Lapis Lazuli stores and a quick look at my hospital.

When we tried to get on the packed rush hour train to go to dinner, however, only Max and I could brave the suffocating death trap. Afraid of abandoning the family, we squeezed back out. That is when I noticed that my camera had been stolen. SO FREAKING SAD. However, Max pointed out to me that it just meant there would be no awkward squinty pictures of him from that afternoon posted on facebook. Always a silver lining? Luckily, I had anticipated such a tragedy, and I brought two cameras to Chile. Score one for planning ahead.

The next day after class, I showed everyone around San Joaquin’s campus, and we lunched on cheap cafeteria food. We also paid a visit to Pablo Neruda’s other house, La Chascona. This house is in a weird part of Bellavista, but the property is just as lovely as La Sebastiana. I particularly liked the secret staircase, the library, and the open party patio. Pablo certainly did know how to rage. Plus, we got to see his Nobel Prize medal in person. Coolness.

Although I spent most of Wednesday away from the family, we did all get together with Max for dinner. We headed to Tiramisu, which is probably either my favorite or at least, one of my favorite Santiago restaurants. Yum for crispy pizza.

Anyway, on Thursday after class we all caught a quick flight to Puerto Montt. The flight was smooth as usual, though I was disappointed at the lack of lemon cookie in my snack box. Upon arrival, we decided we wanted to rent a car. Turns out all of the car places request a reservation… except one. The man’s name was Freddy, the car had two cracks in the windshield, and we had to pay in cash. BUT within an hour we were on the road, and headed to our hostal. We found this one with relative ease and were pleasantly surprised by the spacious and spotless apartment (especially considering how rundown Puerto Montt is).  Two funny things about this apartment: 1. We would talk about how it was missing things (towels, a map, toilet paper), and all of a sudden the owner would appear out of nowhere with whatever we were just discussing in hand. Too random. 2. The owner’s husband IS Grandpa. Like I think that Grandpa and this man were separated at birth, and Hector is his Chilean counterpart. The mannerisms, the way of running things, everything.

The next day we headed off to Vicente Perez Rosales National Park. Though we got a bit disoriented in Puerto Varas, after getting some directions from a couple of nice info guides, we were on our way. The drive out was gorgeous (minus there being TONS of road construction), and the park did not disappoint. It was honestly the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. Blue skies, turquoise waters, rushing falls, and snow-topped volcanoes. Just spectacular. I will post pictures soon. We also stumbled upon this blue lagoon with a mini waterfall that may have been one of my highlights of the trip. So pretty. After lunch, we decided to head the other direction to try to get up close and personal to the volcano. Sadly, Freddy’s car was not a fan of the climb, and for all of our safety we decided to turn around before reaching the highest point. Still the afternoon had much more in store for us with a detour to the lovely German town of Fruitillar where we did more shopping (yay!), ate some deliciously rich cake, drank mochas, and fed some bright orange hot dogs to a couple of very happy dogs. While the German food may not have lived up to our standards, the sauerkraut was good, and the town was very charming. PLUS on the way back home I saw the world’s most gorgeous sunset out the car window. It was pink and red and purple and gold and amazing.

On Saturday it was off to Chiloe bright and early. This time we had a guide named “Don Juan” who spoke enough English to show us around the ins and outs of the island. Chiloe was lovely in its own way with its brightly colored houses, idyllic countryside, rolling hills, extensive coastline, antique boats, and old wooden churches. The highlight of the trip though was taking a small boat out to some islands where Magellanic AND Humboldt penguins share breeding grounds (this is a super rare phenomenon in nature). On the way to the penguins, we also saw this super adorable sea otter feeding himself and swimming around, and flocks upon flocks of Cormorants (easily mistaken for penguins, I assure you.) The penguins were adorable as anything, and I could tell my mom was quite happy to see them in their natural habitat. Plus, for lunch we had these delicious seafood empanadas (abalone), and did (surprise) MORE shopping. Penguin hats for the win. The ferry ride back into town was a nice glimpse into my life as a herd of little boys all stared and started saying “Hello” in English to us. Yes, blondes are like zoo animals here. In some cases, like with the boys, it is cute. In others, it is not.

Finally it was time for our last day in Puerto Montt. Perplexed as to what to do, we departed for a “hot spring” close to home that seemed like it would involve minimal dirt road driving. Apparently dirt roads are really common in the south, and we did not think Freddy’s car would be up for much off-roading. Anyway, after taking a short but particularly treacherous dirt road down to the parking lot (read: some random guy in crocs with about 10 super cute dog’s house), we proceeded to continue down another steep dirt path until we got to a small riverbank. There we were greeted by a FREAKING TARANTULA. I thought I was done with those things after Peru. Nope. Apparently not. I was happy to get in the rowboat, toothless driver and all, and away from its clutches. Once we arrived on the other bank, the driver gave me some instructions that I could barely understand thanks to his thick accent and sent us on our merry way. After much searching, we determined that the so-called hot springs were actually an oversized steaming hot puddle. Lame. Still it was slightly relaxing, and we all had a good laugh over it. As my dad would say, it was rustic. Plus the view of the river was lovely. We departed from the springs after about an hour and prayed that we could make it back up the hill in Freddy’s car. Luckily, it pulled through (!!!!!!!), and we were not left for dead in Puerto Montt with the toothless boatman and the tarantulas. Back to Puerto Varas we went to have lunch at the home of Chile’s most delicious muffins (note: their burgers were not bad either), and then to do more shopping in the Varas and the Montt. Plus, we had a good laugh at a Jack Russell mix that was PERSISTENTLY trying to mate with a black lab. The logistics were nowhere near right. Sorry, buddy, but you sure put in quite the effort.

By the time we finally made it to the airport, we had enjoyed a full weekend of many adventures and were glad to return Freddy’s car to him and call it a day. Freddy was plump as ever, and he didn’t even ask to see it before sending us on our way. Surprise, surprise with his quality operation. Anyway, the flight was all good minus the half hour it took to deboard us in Santiago. Why they deboarded us on the tarmac and then forced us onto shuttle buses is beyond me. But I digress.

Anyway, that meant that the next day was Monday, the last day of the visit (I know, you are all thinking, “FINALLY! Maybe she will shut up now…”). It was a low-key day, and saying goodbye was difficult. Grandma Cookie left me with a wonderful gift though, and I am still quite thankful to both her and my parents. All in all, it was a great time. Showing everyone the ins and outs of my life was quite the experience. I loved bringing my two homes together, and I hope my parents got an insight on what I do here on a daily basis and how it differs from the United States. However, translating for 10 straight days is TIRING. Love you guys, but having to read the entirety of every menu to you gets old fast. But such are the things I gladly put up with for good company and free food.

Anyway, that same Monday was Max and my two monthiversary, so we went to California Cantina for a dinner of delicious American food and then relaxed for the rest of the night. It was a perfect way to unwind after a busy vacation.

This past week was filled to the brim with studying and writing. On Monday I turned in a five-page horror story and a paper revision, on Wednesday I was supposed to take a Culture and Society of Latin America test but luckily I was exempt, and on Thursday I had to turn in a final paper about literary movements to my Latin American short story class. Needless to say, it was busy busy busy. Though I was beyond happy not to have to take that Culture exam. So glad to never have to set foot into another three hour lecture again. Especially not a three-hour lecture given by a man who has no clue what he is talking about, but LOVES the sound of his own voice. Ugh. Worst class ever. But anyway…

That meant that on Thursday I was done with classes. Since I went to bed at 4 am the night before, I spent the afternoon relaxing and then celebrated the fact that almost all of my classes are over with a sushi dinner (I have become obsessed with a roll of avocado, cream cheese, and raw salmon wrapped in a mix of avocado and salmon) with Zoe, Brenna, Chloe, and their Chilean friend, Valentina followed by a long night of drinks and dancing. The next afternoon I headed off to Friday lunch where I demolished a “gyro” (not even close to a gyro, there was no yogurt sauce or lamb, but it was still tasty) and caught up with the ladies, since I hadn’t seen them in forever. Though I would have loved to have gone with them to Vina and Valpo for the weekend, I opted for productivity. After getting drinks with Felipe and then Gonzalo that night, the next day Max and I planned our Patagonia trip out. I am starting to get really excited about it. We booked a hostel for both nights, and Max drew up a rough itinerary. It is going to involve more hiking than I have ever done in my life, but I think I am ready for it. The trail is supposedly pretty tame, I have all the right gear, and I plan on packing light. Plus, no matter what it will be an adventure, and I know we will have a great time. We also decided to head to a southern beach town called Pichilemu this weekend, so our hostels are all booked for that. I have been put to the task of getting bus tickets tomorrow, which could be interesting. Hopefully we will get to do some water sporting and hardcore relaxing. Hammocks = love. This Friday is also our goodbye dinner for my program, which is kind of sad. While there are many things I will not miss about Chile (unorganized school systems, pick-pocketing, long metro rides, jotes, tasteless food, crazy drivers), what I will for sure miss are the people I have met here. Though I still have plenty of time left to spend with my friends from both within and outside of the program, the dinner serves as a reminder that my time here is coming to a close. And I have SERIOUSLY mixed feelings about it. Though really, the food. I may have already created an event on facebook to eat lunch at Chipotle with my friends the day I get back. Sorry parents. I still love you.

Anyway, the only other thing of note was that yesterday was the long-awaited U. Chile vs. La Catolica classic rivalry match. We didn’t realize we had to buy our tickets in advance, so we hiked all the way out to the stadium before realizing we would not be let in. Walking to the stadium might not have been so bad except that I got yelled at more than I ever have in my entire life so far. I didn’t realize just how much smaller my team was than Max’s team until yesterday. Almost every single person we passed was a U. Chile fan, and they did not hesitate to shout unsavory things at me in my Catolica jersey. It was like I had a target on my back. I got yelled at from busses, from across the street, from all directions. However, I held my head up high and gripped Max’s hand nice and tight. Some of my favorite comments included a guy who said I was beautiful even though I was from La Catolica, the numerous people who called me Russian, and the people who jeered at the fact that Max was wearing an U. Chile jersey while I sported the Catolica one. Still nothing beat the car of people that blatantly took a photo of us while stopped at an intersection. They even asked us to smile for the camera. Apparently friendly rivalries do NOT exist in Chile, and my divided family has nothing on this. I was even a little scared for my safety at points. Fortunately for me, we ended up at a quiet bar where we were able to watch the entirely uneventful game in peace. It ended in a 0-0 tie, and afterwards the group of us headed to a local sandwich place to chow down on sandwiches the size of our heads. All in all, it was possibly an even better way to spend the game than at the stadium itself.

Anyway, that has been my last 18 days. I would say they have been pretty freaking eventful. Now all I have left in Chile is exactly one month, two big trips (Montevideo/ Buenos Aires and Patagonia), one little trip (Pichilemu), one class (Language and Discourse of Chile), and a lot of fun left to be had before I say chao to the most exciting semester of my college career. As much as I am trying to push it away, the real world is catching up fast, and I have jobs to apply for, LSATs to consider, and cover letters to write within these next few weeks. How did this happen? Where did all the time go? From time to time, my host mom and I discuss the passing of time, and she always reminds me that she told me this would happen. She told me when I first got here, sick-as-a-dog, that it would all go by in a flash. And as always, mothers know best. I just wish I didn’t feel so conflicted about saying goodbye to this place and going home.